IR - Eureka Bero 30 Sleeping Bag - joe schaffer

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/test/TESTS/IR%20-%20Eureka%20Bero%2030%20Sleeping%20Bag%20-%20joe%20schaffer/


Eureka Bero 30 Sleeping Bag
Initial Report
by Joe Schaffer

June 24, 2015

TESTER INFORMATION:
NAME: Joe Schaffer
EMAIL: never2muchstuff(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
AGE: 67
GENDER: Male
HEIGHT: 5'9" (1.75 m)
WEIGHT: 175 lb (79.4 kg)
HOME:  Hayward, California USA

   I frequent California's central Sierras, camping every month with a goal to match my age in nights out each year; often solo. Weight matters, but more important is clothing, shelter and sleeping gear adequate to the task of maintaining comfort in all reasonably anticipated circumstances. Summer trips last typically a week to 10 days; 40 lbs (18 kg), about half food related; about 5 miles (8 km) per hiking day. I winter camp most often at 6,000' to 7,000' (1,800 to 2,000 m); 2 to 3 nights; 50 lbs (23 kg); 1 to 4 miles (1.6 to 6.4 km) on snowshoes. 

The Product:
        Manufacturer: Eureka
        Web site: www.Eurekatent.com
        Product: Bero 30 / -1 sleeping bag
        Received: 6/20/15

MSRP: $119.90 US

My measures: Men's Regular
    weight: 2 lb 11 1/2 oz (1.23 kg)
    length: 80" (2.03 m)
    width: (at shoulder) 31" (79 cm)
    width: (at foot end) 16" (41 cm)
    loft: about 3 1/2" (9 cm)
    stuff sack: 7" x 14" (18 x 36 cm)
    stuff sack weight: 3 1/8 oz (89 g)

Factory Measures:
    weight: 2 lb 14 oz (1.30 kg)
    length: 78" (2 m)
    width: (at shoulder) 33" (84 cm)
    width: (at foot) 24" (61 cm)
    stuff sack: 7.5" x 15" (19 x 38 cm)
         
KEY FEATURES: (excerpted from manufacturer)
Shingle-style construction
Generous cut
"peached" polyester lining fabric
Locking, 2-way zipper
Full length, insulated zipper draft tube with anti-snag guard
Mateable with women's and long length (left side zipper) mummy style sleeping bags
Insulated hood and chin baffles
Internal pocket
Compression stuff sack
   

MY DESCRIPTION:
    Bero Sleeping bag openThis bag has synthetic shell and fill. The shell is blue on top, navy blue on bottom, and gray inside. The bag zips on the right to about 17 1/2" (44 cm) from the bottom, with double pull to allow opening from the bottom while keeping the top zipped. The inside top has a pocket about 6" (15 cm) wide x 7 1/2" (19 cm ) deep, with a Velcro tab closure. Nine horizontal baffles about 7 1/2" (19 cm) wide hold the fill in place. This bag has a hood with a separate round draw string for the hood closure and for the chest closure, held by a cordlock. A draft tube about 1 3/8" (3.5 cm) surrounds the chest and hood, travelling the length of the top side of the zipper as well.  The zipper area of the draft tube has heavy nylon strip  1 3/8" (3.5 cm) wide running the length of
  each side of the zipper. A 4" x 1 1/2" (10 x 4 cm) brand logo appears on the top side of the bag, about 12" (30 cm) from the neck and 4" (10 cm) from the left side. A
 second logo for the fill appears above the bottom end of the zipper, about 3" x 1 1/2" (8 x 4 cm).

FIT: I find the bag rather roomy.

COLOR:  The color appears conservatively appropriate to me. The bottom dark blue should hold a bit of dirt before looking so. The top blue is bright enough to look lively without screaming. The inner gray should wear well without immediately appearing smudgy.

HAND: Everything touchable is polyester and feels appropriately soft and appealingly warm. I don't know what "peached" means, but I'm thinking it means to suggest an inference of fuzziness. I don't have a better term to describe how the inner shell feels and can only say it feels less hard and slick than common nylon.

CARE INSTRUCTIONS: I find them brief, clear, concise and to my understanding, entirely correct. The washing instructions perhaps should advise against overzealous cleaning, but that determination is perhaps best left to the individual user. I prefer to take great care not to get the bag dirty in order that it not require frequent cleaning. The tag includes an admonishment not to leave the bag in the stuff sack for long periods of time.

CONTEXT:
    As a gear hound I go to painful rumination every trip to fine tune the sleeping bag choice to the precise conditions anticipated. I need enough room in the bag to pat myself on the back for choosing the right bag for that night; or to slap myself on the head for not thinking clearly enough to get it right. I don't want a bag that's any heavier than necessary; and my comfort quotient fails if I wake up cold or hot. This is the first synthetic-fill bag I'll have tried in about 10 years. I'm excited to try this bag to see if I sleep with less anxiety on a rainy night in my little-bit-leaky homemade single wall tent. Perhaps it will never rain again in California, but over the last 6 months there have been probably 10 nights that I think I would have rather had synthetic fill. I tend to gr
 umble if I get cold, but I get outright nasty if I'm sweating in the bag. I eagerly anticipate testing the breathability of the bag and how well it (or perhaps I should
 say me in it) can handle a range of temps from probably 40 to 55 F (4-13 C).

IMPRESSIONS:
    As I have reason to want synthetic, I'll avoid any trifling comparison with down and stick to strict impression of this bag relative to other synthetics I've never used but have considered. I'll confess the brand does not immediately come to mind when I think of premium backpacking choices; and instead I think of it more in the family camping big and bulky type of thing. The bag seemed heavy when I took it from the box; and I was more immediately dismayed (though not very surprised) that it has been stuffed tightly since manufacture. From China to the retail shelf spans considerable time and I would prefer my bag not be constricted for the duration. (The delivery code is not a Julian date and I cannot otherwise cipher it.) I had several minutes to contemplate the sincerity of this pref
 erence as I struggled to extract the bag from the stuff sack. That feat finally accomplished, I tossed the stuff sack to the side, declaring it would never be of
 further use. However, rising to the ethic of responsible tester, I tortured the poor sleeping bag once more to be able to say from personal experience that it would not fit; and to my surprise I was able to punish the product back into its package. But I won't again because smashing even an inexpensive bag up like a raccoon run over by an 18-wheeler is just not how I treat my stuff.
    The styling of the bag does not match that of jazzier brands, but I was surprised at how much I like its feel. I won't imply that I've done extensive comparison, but the bag seems to be perhaps average in price compared to a range of 30-degree F (-1 C) bags. Kudos for putting the cost into the fill instead of the pockets of the fashion consultant! I crawled into the bag and found it rather roomy compared to bags I routinely use. I did not feel at all prepared to mummify. Of course that leads to the next concern as to whether there is too much air space to heat up inside. I felt great in it for a few minutes on the couch, but I'll be happily surpised if it lives up to the EN rating. Presumably the rating is valid, and I'll withhold any further remarks until I've been in the woods.
    The bag seems to have gained about 1/2" (13 mm) of loft in the few days that I've left it out of the stuff sack. It will be another week before I use it, and perhaps it will gain a bit more.
    This report headlines Spero to be consistent with the application. I received the Bero, which is a half-pound (0.23 kg) heavier and may have other differences as well.

Quick shots:
    a) looks well made
    b) comfortable
    c) bit heavy
    d) small stuff sack

Thank you Eureka and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test this product.  Field Report follows in 2 months; and Long Term Report 2 months thereafter.